CHANDLER, AZ (Gray News) – The police video shows officers breaking down the door of a home in a Phoenix subdivision in the middle of the night.
The incident pits parental rights against the rights of doctors and state agencies to assure their welfare.
The reason?
The parents of a sick 2-year-old with a dangerously high fever and no vaccinations refused to take him to a hospital emergency room or talk face-to-face with police and department of child safety representatives to confirm his welfare.
Both parents were charged with one count each of child abuse. Their three children are now in foster care, the Arizona Republic reported.
The Chandler Police Department released the video this week to show their side in a story after the outcry of what many see as a heavy-handed approach.
Ultimately, it pits parental rights against the rights of doctors and state agencies to assure their welfare.
In February, when Sarah Beck brought her son to a naturopathic doctor he was running a 105 degree. Naturopathy is a form of alternative medicine.
After checking with area hospitals, the doctor told her that her son was showing possible signs of meningitis and needed to be taken to the emergency room for testing.
Beck was reluctant to do that since her son hadn’t had his vaccinations and she was afraid she’d be reported to authorities. The doctor assured her she wouldn’t be and sent her to the hospital.
State law in Arizona allows parents to opt out of vaccinations for personal, religious or medical reasons.
When Beck didn’t show up, the doctor ultimately called the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS), which led to police and department officials showing up on the family’s doorstep for a welfare check.
They had a court order in hand that allowed them to take custody of the boy.
After about three hours at the home knocking on the door and numerous times talking to the child’s father on the phone inside, asking to see the child and being refused, authorities broke down the door.
All three children inside were taken to the hospital. The 2-year-old was admitted with a respiratory virus.
Rep. Kelly Townsend told the Republic she was outraged by the response of police and DCS officials in the case.
She’s one of the lawmakers who helped put together the legislation requiring DCS to obtain a warrant before removing a child from their parents or guardians in non-emergency circumstances.
“It was not the intent (of the law) that the level of force after obtaining a warrant was to bring in a SWAT team,” Townsend told the paper. “The imagery is horrifying. What has our country become that we can tear down the doorway of a family who has a child with a high fever that disagrees with their doctor?”
It’s uncertain when the parents may regain custody of their three children. They’re fighting to get them back.
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